Here are three specific take aways form the Last Supper as seen in Scripture.

1. Fulfillment of Prophecy

From the time of the Hebrews exodus from the land of Egypt and slavery Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread has been celebrated. In Exodus 12 the first Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated during the night when the plague of the death of the Firstborn. Later in the Law (Lev.23), the Israelites are instructed to celebrate the feast annually for the purpose of transmitting to future generations the significance of the the pivotal event in their past.

The last time Jesus and the twelve disciples celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread (they had celebrated it together three times previous), the night took on a special significance. During the meal Jesus halts the normal progression of the evening at the third cup and changes the multi-millennia old tradition. He brings a sense of chronology to the meal. He stops there and states that the the wine represents His blood. The whole Passover meal, though it commemorated an event in history, was in a reality a prophetic retelling of the plan of redemption of all people, not only the Jews. Jesus was explaining to the disciples where they presently were in the larger context of redemption.

2. Establishment of a New Feast

Jesus halted the meal at the third cup of Passover, referred to as the Cup of Redemption. Jesus equated the Cup of Redemption with His work on the Cross. The third Cup represented His own blood poured out as the sufficient sacrifice necessary to appease the judgement of God, just as the blood of the innocent lamb in antiquity placated the Angel of the Lord’s necessity to exact judgment on the first born.

This is the institution of communion, a memorial remembrance of the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ which allows the judgment of God to passover those are covered by it. This is what is remembered every time believers “take communion”. We are essentially re-enacting the larger symbol of the Passover in its keystone symbol: the Cup of Redemption.

3. The Promise of a Feast to Come

Jesus stated at the institution of communion, the remembrance of His sacrifice, that He would not drink wine again until He did in the Kingdom with His disciples (Matt 26:29). We are commanded by Jesus to remember the third Cup of Redemption continually until He returns. He promises to not drink of the vine again until the Kingdom, which will be the fourth cup in the Passover meal: the Cup of Restoration.

The third cup of the Last Supper is the last cup, but there is a promised cup yet to be drunk. The fourth Cup of Restoration should not be forgotten in the Last Supper narrative. It is the promised hope of the return of Jesus and fulfillment of all things. In one sense, the Last Supper is a meal on pause, a meal we continue to remember and celebrate until it picks up again in the Kingdom and the culmination of all things.

In our remembrance of the Last Supper, let’s end not only with a sobering reality of the cross, but also in the sure promise of Jesus return and the fourth cup: the celebratory Cup of Restoration.

Ever since we heard we have been praying for Jesse, that the Lord’s will would be done in this situation, believing that the Lord Jesus is more than able to touch and heal him.

Please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jessecobb.

This link will keep us all updated as to how Jesse is and how we can pray.
We ask that you would continue to pray for Jesse, his father Dan, his mother Cindi, his sister Abbie, and all others including family and friends who are being affected by this situation.

Remember our God is the one who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Praise the Lord he is a God of resurrection power!
Vaya con Dios!

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

It’s very important for us as a church that we don’t view certain “ministries” or certain “structures” as absolute necessities. What do I mean? For instance, that we need to have a college group, or that we need to have a mid-week bible study or that we started a ministry and it’s been going so long we can’t shut it down. Oh yes we can! I say this because it’s important for us to always be seeking the Lord and what He is doing currently among us and not hanging on to what God was doing years ago.

Ministries should be constantly revisited and revised and when there is no more vision or revising to be done we should kill them. Otherwise they become an unnecessary burden to the Church. We don’t have time to be unnecessarily burdened. In fact,  we want to know what God is doing presently and be a part of that.

The Sunday night prayer meeting started in my living room with my wife, one other couple, and a college student, over four years ago. The prayer meeting grew over time and so did the passion to pray. We had many great times of calling on the Lord and of asking for revival in the church and in our city. The format changed over the years but we always stuck to praying. The Sunday night prayer meeting is close to my heart because it is the first ministry I ever led at RCF and God has done great things among us and I believe in the power of prayer. But even so this should not be what keeps a ministry going. We must continually ask ourselves “What is God doing”?

All this is to say that I believe that the Lord has moved on and given us a better venue to pray. We are encouraging the whole congregation to engage in prayer at their Community Groups. This is a great context for praying for one another and the needs of one another. It is also a great opportunity to get prayer for yourself or personal issues going in your life. Community groups are also a great way for us to come together with one voice and one heart  in prayer for our church and our city. We also encourage all of you to come out to our Sunday morning prayer meeting at 8:30 and pray with us for the morning service, the church and our city.

May God bless you and make you a blessing.

Vaya Con Dios

Good Morning Everyone,

Early this morning around 1am PST the city of Sendai in Japan was hit with 8.9 earthquake, this was followed by a tsunami, massive flooding, and countless fires. There are hundreds dead and hundreds more missing. The pictures and video that we have been able to see are devastating, the destruction is hard to imagine. Most of you know that we have family and many friends in Japan. We want to thank the many people who have already contacted us to express your concern and let us know that you are praying. We have not been able to contact anyone over there. As for our family, they live about 600 miles from where the earthquake occurred, so we assume that they are safe. Our friends in Tokyo were much closer to the epicenter (about 250 miles) and felt it powerfully, but thankfully there has not been much damage reported in Tokyo. Join us in prayer for the people of Japan. Pray for those who have lost everything; cars, homes, family members and friends. Pray that the light of Christ would shine brightly at this time as Christians respond to this disaster. Pray that God would use this great tragedy to draw thousands to Himself, that grief would turn to joy as the Lord works in Sendai. Remember also that after the debris is cleaned up, the buildings are fixed, and everything returns to normalcy in Japan, they still need you prayers. Everyday people in Japan are dying apart from the hope of the Gospel. Please pray that this will be the beginning of revival in Japan.

Thank you,
The Burns

I have missed you all so much! The past six months have been crazy in my life, and knowing y’all were holding me up in prayer has meant more than you’ll ever know! God is so faithful and has truly given me amazing peace, encouragement and new direction through it all. Even though I’ll be living in Houston for now, you are still my church family that I continuously pray for and think of often. May God bless the ministry and all you do this new year!

All my love,

Joanie Woelfel

Honoring the satirical postmodern “come-as-whatever-Christmas-means-to-you” theme, we saw quite a few creative costumes. The night also consisted of a potluck, an awesome snowman piñata, cookie decorating, a Christmas dance party, and [of course] a photo booth.

You can view the pictures by watching the slideshow below

You may also take some for yourself by visiting this website: here

There is a Hymn/Christmas carol sing along taking place at Santa Rosa Bible at 6pm on Sunday. Hymn Page 116 is a great band with an original sound that has a unique way of arranging hymns. We hope to see you all there and encourage you to make it an evening of fellowship by getting dinner before or after.  Also this is a great opportunity to invite someone who is not a Christian to join… because you know, everybody likes to sing!